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Kokoro
Kokoro (Kanji: 心, Hiragana: こころ, Rōmaji: Kokoro) is a young maiko (apprentice geisha), and Ba Ji Quan martial artist in the ''Dead or Alive'' series, who made her official debut in Dead or Alive 4. A sweet and polite girl, Kokoro is the illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas and one of his former mistresses Miyako, making Kokoro the half-sister of Helena Douglas. It is possible that if Helena were to give up her control of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee, Kokoro would be next-in-line to take control. However, it seems that Kokoro has little to no knowledge of her connection to DOATEC and the Douglas family. __TOC__ History Early Life Kokoro was conceived by her mother Miyako while she was a mistress to Fame Douglas but she moved back to Kyoto with her mother when she was too young to understand her situation and was never told who her father was. While Miyako kept her connections with DOATEC as head of the subdivision DOATEC Japan, Kokoro was oblivious to her heritage and was placed in training to be a geisha - a traditional, female Japanese entertainer whose skills include classical music and dance. While she had her heart in her maiko training, Kokoro also gained a love for the martial arts and started to train herself in the art of Ba Ji Quan as a result. During the events of the third Dead or Alive Tournament, Kokoro was walking home and saw a passed out high school girl. This girl was Kasumi disguised as a high schooler to keep her shinobi secret from getting out. Kokoro asked her if she needed any help but Kasumi refused despite having a major fever, and fled as she saw Ayane approaching. When Ayane asked her where Kasumi ran off to, Kokoro refused to tell her. Ayane was angered and was forced to fight her. In the end, Kokoro fled as well without saying a word to Ayane. The Fourth Tournament At 17 years old, Kokoro started to focus more on her Ba Ji Quan training and asked her mother if she could participate in the fourth Dead or Alive Tournament. While Miyako was not happy about her daughter's choice, she hesitantly gave her permission but warned Kokoro that she might not necessarily like what would come of it. During one of her initial matches, Kokoro faced the drunken master Brad Wong, who seemed to take a liking to her. Kokoro, however, was put off by the drunk and vehement fighter and declined his offer for a drink. After several rounds of the tournament, Kokoro met Helena. Unaware that they were related, Kokoro was surprised when Helena recognized her as Miyako's daughter before their fight. It is then that Helena mentions that Kokoro should learn her fighting technique, Pi Gua Quan. After the tournament, Kokoro returned to Kyoto where she resumes both her maiko and martial arts training. The Fifth Tournament While on a business trip to Tokyo with her mother, Kokoro took a stroll through the city and spotted Helena on a monitor announcing the reformation of DOATEC and the return of the Dead or Alive Tournament, which push hope in Kokoro that she will be able to see Helena again. The very next moment, a construction site collapses and during the chaos Kokoro is knocked over by Lisa Hamilton, who she challenges to a fight and demands an apology. After their battle, Lisa asks the girl how Miyako is doing, implying that the two fighters know each other through DOATEC. The next few days, Kokoro returned to Kyoto to train for the up-coming tournament, having friendly spars against Jann Lee and Akira, before she is picked up by Zack to go to the tournament. When Kokoro arrives, Zack takes her to meet Helena and the two of them have a friendly conversation. During their chat, Kokoro asked Helena what kind of man her own father was, implying that Kokoro may know - or as least expect - that Fame was her father. However, either women confirms nor denies the fact and they go on to have a friendly fight. At the fifth tournament, Kokoro made it to the quarterfinals, but was defeated by Eliot. Endings Character Appearance Also see: Kokoro's Outfit Catalogues Compared to the other women in the series, Kokoro is a youthful, feminine young woman. She consists of black, waist-length hair worn loose with a small segment tied in a bobble up front on her left hand side. She has monochrome gray eyes, full lips, blemished cheeks, pale skin, and rounded facial features even when next to the other feminine brawlers. She is of average height and one of the smallest fighters with a petite body. In Dead or Alive: Dimensions her hair is tied back with a yellow bow, which is due to the 3DS not handling long hair physics. In contrast to the other female characters in the game, Kokoro's outfits are the most conservative and non-sexualized in the series. Two of Kokoro's outfits are pink and blue feminized versions of the Changshan, an outfit typically worn by males in China. In the Dead or Alive 4 opening, Kokoro is seen in a pink kimono (there are some cases where she is seen in a blue kimono instead). These kimono are not accessible during gameplay but the pink version of the kimono was available in Dead or Alive: Dimensions. While it appears to be a proper, decorative kimono with a red collar of a maiko and an sash around the waist, it is actually incorrectly dressed so the skirt is loose, allowing Kokoro to move with ease, at the same time exposing her legs. The outfit also includes sandals and a type of sock known as . Personality Possibly due to her up-bringing, Kokoro is well-mannered and well-spoken but also delicate and soft in nature. Similar to Kasumi, Kokoro appears to be one of the more merciful and gentle-spirited fighters; after she wins a fight, she may ask if she has gone too far with the fight and extends an apology. The only time she acts harshly in words or actions is when Brad made an advance on her and she pushed him away. Kokoro is very kindhearted and sweet to others and for a girl her age, she is very mature beyond her years. She does seem weak emotionally at times. She does indeed fight to the best of her ability but, if she loses, she calls out for her mother. This would indicate that although she is confident in her style, losing proves to be a bit too much for her. Her sheltered life and Miyako's protectiveness over her could have made it hard for her to adapt to the harsh reality of the tournament. Aside from her merciful personality and innocence, she is shown to have a short temper, especially when she feels people are rude to her. This is noted when she meets Ayane in Dimensions ''and when Lisa accidentally bumps into her and scolds her for not being very vigilant of her surroundings. Etymology The kanji used to spell Kokoro's name (心) means "''Heart," which reflects her gentle and kind nature. Relationships Helena Douglas While the two of them are half-sisters, Kokoro doesn't know who Helena is. On the other hand, Helena seems to know about Kokoro and Miyako (as she was old enough to remember). In Kokoro's story mode in the fourth Dead or Alive tournament, she eventually finds and feels weird upon coming into contact with her. Helena replies, "Our blood... Can that what brought us here together." While preparing for battle, Helena shouts, "you must learn my techniques!" ( This symbolizes the union of Bajipigua quan "Sister styles" to united into one art ) When Helena announces the Fifth Dead or Alive Tournament, Kokoro recognizes her. When Kokoro meets her, she asks Helena about her father, telling the woman that she did not remember hers. Helena assures her that her father was a good man, "as Kokoro's was." It is unknown if Kokoro knows that Fame was definitely her biological father, but both she and Helena do not deny it or admit it. Brad Wong Brad seems to take a liking to Kokoro when he first sees her, offering her a drink under the trees. Kokoro, however, refuses him straight and the two engage in combat. They share a secondary team alliance with Brad leading their team-up. Akira Yuki As shown in the E3 trailer for Dead or Alive 5, Kokoro and Akira test their show of skill, seeing as they are both masters in the art of Ba Ji Quan. Kokoro tries to show him that she too can be just as strong in Ba Ji Quan. They feature a new tag alliance in this tournament with team poses and team up moves. Gameplay Dead or Alive Kokoro's Ba Ji Quan fighting style incorporates many effective low kicks and powerful high kicks to assist her powerful elbows and strikes. Her elbows and punches are very quick and can cause many critical stuns. She is described as being a character well-suited for beginners, due to her unbreakable chain throw, being the safest character in the game in relation to advantage and disadvantage, and being easy to execute moves and mix-ups. However, one of Kokoro's biggest disadvantages is that she is a very easy character to counter. Bigger and stronger characters like Bayman and Tina Armstrong can inflict an incredible amount of damage to Kokoro, making her fairly weak in a fight like this. Furthermore, she has a lot of punches and kicks that would intend players to "button mash." Compared to the varying attack strings of her sister Helena, Kokoro's attacks appear to be less refined. Dead or Alive Xtreme Kokoro is easy to recruit but sometimes you might want to wait a bit before asking her to become your partner. She is also very grumpy in the morning, so wait to talk to her and give her gifts until the afternoon or evening. In turn, Kokoro can easily become friends with everyone. In beach volleyball, Kokoro seems to be an almost balanced player, just not as well-rounded as the likes of Helena, Christie, and Lisa. She has great speed, power, and good defense but she is somewhat lacking in technique and jumping skill, making her aiming weaker than the other girls aim. As well as the balanced players, she can make a good team with Leifang, who isn't as strong as Kokoro but Leifang can play the more defensive part of the team. She can also add strength to a team-up with the weak Kasumi and still make a very fast pairing. Appearances ''Dead or Alive'' Series *''Dead or Alive 4'' (2005 - 2006) *''Dead or Alive Xtreme 2'' (2006) *''Dead or Alive Paradise'' (2010) *''Dead or Alive: Dimensions'' (2011) *''Dead or Alive 5'' (2012) Musical Themes *''Moonlit Lady'' - Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive: Dimensions *''Estheticism'' - Dead or Alive 4 Ending Theme Gallery Trivia *In the Dead or Alive Xtreme sub-series, Kokoro's favorite color is Orange. * Tomonobu Itagaki commented that Ba Ji Quan was first used in , which he called the "origin of 3D fighting games". Virtua Fighter's main character Akira Yuki used this fighting style but Itagaki hoped to reproduce the martial art more realistically with Kokoro in Dead or Alive 4. *The reason Kokoro, Ayane, Eliot, and Kasumi do not have listed ages in western versions of the Dead or Alive games from the original Dead or Alive to Dead or Alive 4 is because they were under 18 years old. Tecmo decided to give them undefined ages to avoid the risk of a moral backlash from western countries. *IGN featured Kokoro in their "Videogame Babe of the Day" series in 2006. *Kokoro wears glasses in Dead or Alive 5. It is unknown if she wears prescription glasses or not. Category:Characters Category:Dead or Alive 4 Characters Category:Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 Characters Category:Dead or Alive Paradise Characters Category:Dead or Alive: Dimensions Characters Category:Dead or Alive 5 Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Japanese Characters Category:Characters born in December Category:Ba Ji Quan Practitioners